Katie and I went to high school together in Libertyville, many years ago. When planning for her wedding with Bill, I don’t she think talked to any photographers besides me; during our first meeting, she said she trusted me.

This kid’s name is Dragon. He goes to the Off The Street Club, which is a place in Chicago where kids can hang out in a safe environment while doing all number of development activities. I took pictures at their annual fundraiser party, and met Dragon and dozens of other kids. Dragon has lost family members to gang violence, so the value of the OTSC is immensely relevant in terms of giving him a safe place to be during the day.

A few days after I took this photo, Dragon was shot. He’s alive, thankfully, but damn.

In my dreams I scream fire. When I wake, I circle my arms, thrust them out palms-first, and even as I will my hands to shoot flame, nothing ever happens.

So we went downstate and got some things together and shot flaming arrows that went SCREEEEE into the dusk, and WHOOMP as they struck their fuel-soaked targets, throwing up a pillar of ruddy light, a big fuck-you to the moment of wakefulness that dampens all dreams.